WINONA, Minn. — Like the rest of her Saint Mary’s University volleyball teammates,
Sarah Gardner (Rochester, Minn.) was making her first-ever NCAA Central Region appearance last weekend.
She didn’t play like a national-tournament rookie, however.
Gardner collected a team-leading 28 kills in the Cardinals’ two tournament matches — a 3-1 win over Thomas More in the quarterfinals and a 3-1 loss to eventual tournament champion Washington University in St. Louis — and was named to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament Team.
Along with her 28 kills, Gardner also delivered a team-high six service aces, 23 digs, six assists and four kills. It was the fifth time in six tournaments this season that Gardner was named to an all-tournament team.
The junior right-side hitter — a First-Team All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and AVCA All-Central Region selectin — closed out the season as SMU’s kill leader with 386 (3.16 kills per set). She appeared in all 122 sets, boasting a .272 attack percentage, 55 service aces, 197 digs, 58 blocks and 75 assists.